Once upon a time there lived a girl. Her name was Dasha. She was cheerful and active as a child, and never had to worry about her weight. She would cycle four miles every day to get to her school, which is why she also had nice, strong legs. That’s what Dasha’s life could be: free of worry about fat and cellulite. Yes, she didn’t have jaw-dropping good looks, but she couldn’t complain. Then she turned 23. Chocolate, cookies and late dinners started to be automatically deposited to her love handles and butt, but the unsuspecting girl kept eating whatever she liked whenever she liked. Her weight started going up, but Dasha didn’t worry about it. On top of that, her family and friends supported her weight gain by paying “compliments” to her curves which supposedly made her look more womanly. After a while, that 121-pound body of Dasha’s (her height was 5’9) started to gain pounds, slowly but surely, until one day the scales showed 141. Another girl could live with that just fine, but not Dasha. She was a woman of decision, she loved her body and she loved taking care of it. However, while looking in the mirror she could almost hear it saying, “Oh, where does all this belly cellulite come from? Oh, what’s this fatty doing here? I can’t recognize this face…” That’s when Dasha decided to lose weight. A girl with a strong will and character, she demonstrated great zeal in achieving her goal.

Dasha took several radical decisions at once, including: 1) to sign up in a gym; 2) cut meals by half (very smart of her); 3) minimize sugar, mayonnaise and other unhealthy foods (Dasha deserves a praise here, too); 4) have kefir days once in a while (please, don’t!).

As a result, Dasha lost roughly 22 pounds in six months and her weight dropped to 119 pounds! It was 2 pounds less than her normal weight. Dasha was insanely happy to have her slim body back. This could be the end to this story, the happy end. However, reality brings one back to earth. Dasha realized that with the lost pounds, her butt had become saggy, while her arms and legs looked too thin. Despite her skinny body, Dasha had fat on certain areas and it didn’t look nice at all (now it’s called “skinny fat”). Nevertheless, she would diligently go to the gym three times a week. Reality fell upon her without notice. Dasha came across a topic in one of the forums she liked to read, where several enthusiastic girls discussed workouts. Basically, they were amateurs like Dasha, but their beauty standards differed greatly. That’s why the girls looked different, too. It was an eye-opener for Dasha and it made her grow up. She realized she could have a truly beautiful body and her arms didn’t necessarily have to be thin; her butt could be as round as an exotic nut, while a skinny body with some weird proportions wasn’t sexy at all.

The girls from the forum looked amazing. They knew a lot about healthy eating and exercising, and continuously strived for perfection. Dasha fell in love with the athletic body. This love motivated her. She started reading about it and it was carrying her away. It was so exciting and captivating! Also, it dawned on her that she spent those two years that she had been going to the gym in vain, while there was another, greater world that she was about to discover.

Dasha spent about a year experimenting, working on herself, trying new workouts, and perfecting her nutrition and technique. She browsed the Web, read a lot, asked professionals for advice and the gym trainers for instructions. Eventually, Dasha had achieved good results! Then she had a life crisis, and she gave up her job. She was tired… You know how it happens. For a few months, she’d been trying to figure out who she was, until at some point she thought that instead of working out for fun she could try to prepare for a competition. It would motivate her to work on her body, trying to achieve perfection. She realized that all that time she’d been looking for something illusory, whereas she could start doing something she enjoyed, something she was actually obsessed with!

This girl, Dasha, had been nurturing this idea to participate in a bodybuilding competition for about a month, until one day she decided to go for it. The very thought that I could train professionally was giving me goosebumps. I decided to keep on doing fitness after the competition too, perhaps to help other people change themselves (their body and soul). That’s why I decided to get a personal trainer certification and later the ISSA’s Specialist in Fitness Nutrition Certification (The International Sports Sciences Association). That was the knowledge that would come in handy for me, too!

With my mind made up, I found a personal trainer to prepare for my first bodybuilding competition. I was full of confidence, determination, and will to achieve success. In my opinion, the most feminine category of any bodybuilding competition is “Bikini.” I created this website and blog for me myself in the first place, as well as for those who want to change their life, introducing health, sports and strength of mind into it. Perhaps, some of you are inspired by the path I’ve taken on, while others may be inspired by what’s been achieved. Here I write not only about sports. I touch upon other matters as well. My website has grown together with me. I’ve become a professional trainer and a nutritionist. On my website, I share useful information on various subjects related to healthy living, self-enhancement, and more. I’m still going down this path and I don’t know where it may take me tomorrow. You can follow all my physical and spiritual transformations on the pages of my blog, some of which are foolish, some naïve… but all incredibly sincere.

Be the masters of your path, follow your dreams, and be happy! ;-)

I couldn’t help showing you some of the pictures taken during various periods of my life. Yes, I’ve never been terrifyingly fat. First of all, I managed to stop overeating and take myself in hand before it was too late (by the way, it’s crucial when it comes to staying in shape!) Secondly, I’m a naturally skinny person. However, if I kept living the life I used to live, I can’t even imagine how much I would weigh by today and what my body would be like!

Here you will find some pictures I’ve never posted before. They are horrible. I try to never look at them, because in those pictures even my face looks different because of all those extra pounds. It’s swollen and ugly.

Check them out and compare ;-)

Healthy lifestyle is new beauty

I started working for Iron World (Железный мир), a popular sports magazine, in 2013, when I submitted an article on sports nutrition. Now you can find lots of my articles there. Also, I’m a journalist for Iron World’s website.

After a while, I realized that participation in competitions somehow doesn’t seem compatible with the promotion of healthy lifestyles. I’m used to being honest with you, my readers, and with myself. My body never liked those exhaustive pre-contest diets. So I left professional bodybuilding, and now I can enjoy both working out and my healthy balanced diet.

I enjoy what I’m doing now, at his stage of my life, namely writing articles, providing expert consultations and doing modelling, hosting TV programs, and writing nutrition books. I do it with love and passion. My ultimate goal is to achieve harmony with myself. I do what I enjoy doing best, I try to improve myself in other areas of life too, and travel a lot. Currently, I live in New York. More information about me can be found on this website.

I offer personal training services and hold free and paid seminars and trainings.

This section is updateв continuously along with the changes in Dasha’s personality and outlook! Stay tuned! ;-)

Currently, I live in New York.

As a certified personal trainer and specialist in sports nutrition (ISSA), member of American Society of Nutrition, I help my clients, male and female, improve their body, health and life ;-) In addition, I act as an expert, journalist, host and model in fitness-related projects.

Contact me and you will get full support, answers to all your questions, and a strong motivation. However, my experience shows that your results largely depend on you. That’s why your willingness to work on yourself, work hard, is vital.